Pyromania [Import]

Pyromania is one of those landmark albums that every rock fan should own: Over 10 million copies sold, 3 classic hit singles, and a sound that at the time was so new and fresh that everybody took notice. This is before Rick Allen's accident, before Steve Clark's death, and before Def Leppard had any serious hits. 3 would prove to be their lucky number when they set down to record their third album.

This reissue sounds fantastic. It brings the glory of Mutt Lange's groundbreaking production into daylight. The liner notes (by one of my favourite writers, Rolling Stone's David Fricke) reveal Mutt's obsession: At one point the band were laying down entire chords one note at a time in order to get the right amount of power. Their goal was to create an album that nobody had made before, and they succeeded. (Hard to believe that they would pull off the same stunt twice, and do it again on Hysteria, as different from Pyromania as it was from the bands that copied Pyromania!)

Unlike the Hysteria and Adrenalize Deluxe Editions, with Pyromania there were no extra tracks lying around unreleased, and no B-sides available. (The liner notes reveal that an 11th song was written, but not much else.) Instead the bonus second CD is filled with an awesome sounding show from the Pyromania tour. It's important to remember that no live albums or videos were released by Def Leppard until post-Hysteria, so this is the only live release featuring Rick Allen before his accident. Def Leppard sound absolutely ferocious. Joe Elliot's voice is at its vocal-cord-shredding best, gargling glass like AC/DC. Steve Clark and Phil Collen (a new addition) rip and shred on their guitars and weave them into a wall of thunder. Allen and Rick Savage keep it rolling on the rhythm section, never letting up. Brian May of Queen shows up at the end for a CCR cover tune. Some of these songs have never been heard live on a CD: Indeed Leppard never play anything from On Through The Night anymore, and have limited their High 'N' Dry live repetoir to just "Brining On The Heartbreak" and the occassional "Switch 625". Before now, you could never get live versions of such awesome Leppard classics as "Mirror, Mirror", "Let It Go", or "Wasted" to name a few.

Pyromania being their third release, it would have been totally appropriate (and in hindsight very wise) to release this concert as a live album back in the 80's as the band buckled in for the very hard Hysteria recording sessions. For whatever reason, that didn't happen. At least we get to hear it now.

Released in 1983 Pyromania was UK band Def Leppard's big break, this is the album that got them recognition in the U.S. and for many of us, the first taste of the band. Its well-known now, Pyromania was a huge hit for the band earning 10X Platinum status in States alone (its 1987 follow up, Hysteria, was even more successful earning over 12X Platinum) and it remains one of the band's best album. Def Leppard was originally part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in the early 1980's but for Pyromania the band had adopter a different approach with a lighter pop sound that brought them much more commercial success. I'm not sure if Def Lepp is considered a Hair or Glam-Metal band but they did have an influence on the movement and they seem to have the respect of most metal fans. If they are, then they would certainly be one of the better hair bands, to me it's just good classic rock'n'roll. In 2009 Pyromania received the big upgrade as it was remastered and re-released with an extra live CD from the band's performance in 1983 at the L.A. Forum. This was an album which deserved a deluxe treatment; it was an important part of Leppard's history and a big album in the 80's.

Let's go through some of the songs. Pyromania starts off with the rocking "Rock Rock (Till You Drop), an energizing song and a great way to kick-start the album. "Photograph" was the second Def Leppard song I heard (first of course was "Pour Some Sugar On Me") and to this day it remains one of my favorite with what I'd describe as an instantly catchy chorus it's hard not to like this one. Then of course there are the excellent ballads "Too Late For Love" and the highly underrated "Comin' Under Fire", I always thought this song never got the recognition it deserves. My personal pick for best song of the album is "Rock of Ages" but then again there a few contenders on Pyromania! "Rock of Ages" is Def Lepp at their best simply said, the chorus is fantastic and it has all the elements of a great Leppard song. One of the best songs here is the closer "Billy's Got a Gun" which is the most metal-oriented track here, a bit slow but highly effective, killer track.

The next step for the band was a big one, after drummer Rick Allen's accident that would take one of his arms in 1984 the band would recover and come back with their most successful album (and an excellent one as well), 1987's Hysteria. I would say that Pyromania rocks a little more than Hysteria however, but both albums are fantastic Def Leppard albums and are worthy of being in your collection. The album itself gets five stars but even if it's a very nice addition, the bonus live concert disc is unfortunately edited (I can't quite understand why bands feel the need to edit their live performances so much, I get why they remove some of audience interactions but why cut out solos and bits and pieces of songs?). If you're looking to buy just for the album itself, please do but if this is not your first time buying Pyromania then you should know that the live CD is edited in places. Overall, an excellent album and one that I feel is Def Leppard at its finest, 5 stars for the album itself but minus one stars because of the edits on the bonus live disc.

Why can't it be 1983 again? Why did "alternative" music ever have to be created? Why do people laugh at my red leather jacket? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that this album still rocks after 20 years. Put in on and crank it up! And just for a moment, it will be 1983 again.